Cavaliers' Kyrie Irving will be activated for Sunday's game

By Zach Harper | NBA writer

March 31, 2013 5:07 PM ET

"Guys, I'm back now! Get out of the way." (Getty Images)

There is a reason to watch the Cleveland Cavaliers again. They've been riddled with injuries lately, due to Anderson Varejao's season-ending blood clot, Dion Waiters' strained knee, and Kyrie Irving's strained left shoulder. Because of the injuries, the Cavaliers have been horrendous since Irving went down.

They won their first game against the Washington Wizards after Irving went down but haven't won a game since. They have a seven-game losing streak, but the streak could end against the New Orleans Hornets on Sunday night. Irving has been activated and is expected to be available to play. From the Cavs:

Cavaliers guard Kyrie Irving has been cleared to play (left shoulder AC sprain) and will be active tonight for the Cavaliers game in New Orleans against the Hornets. As part of his medical protocol, Irving will be inactive for the Cavs game tomorrow night in Atlanta against the Hawks, as he takes the next steps in his recovery and return to play process following his left shoulder injury experienced on March 10th during the Cavs vs. Raptors game in Toronto.

This should be fun.

Even though Irving isn't ready for back-to-back sets yet, just the fact that he's back should make the Cavs a lot more competitive than they have been. Four of their seven straight losses have been by double digits, and they're getting back one of the best scorers in the league and one of the best fourth-quarter scorers in the league.

Only Kevin Durant (8.7) and Kobe Bryant (7.9) average more fourth-quarter points than Irving's 7.0. The most impressive part of that is Durant (9.7) and Bryant (8.5) each play more than eight minutes per fourth quarter while Irving averages 7.2 minutes in the fourth.